Discipline charges for officers are tabled

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Disciplinary charges against two San Francisco police officers who resigned after they were criminally convicted in late June will not be pursued, though the Police Commission could take action in the future.

Michael Turkington, a six-year department veteran, and Arkady Zlobinsky, who had been on the force eight years, pleaded no contest to one felony and one misdemeanor, respectively, stemming from incidents in the summer and autumn of 2004.

Turkington was convicted of assault under the color of authority for a November 2004 incident in which he held an 18-year-old girl against her will in his unmarked patrol car and forced her to copulate with him.

Zlobinsky was convicted of one count of furnishing alcohol to a minor for a July 2004 incident in which he and Turkington, his then-partner, gave confiscated fireworks and beer to two teenage girls in the Taraval Station district where they worked.

The two were originally charged as co-defendants in the fireworks case, but when Turkington was charged with the more serious crime of felony assault, the case was split and Turkington’s charges were bundled together, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Both officers resigned around the same time as their criminal convictions.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the Police Commission voted unanimously to indefinitely table any disciplinary action against the two former officers.

Lt. Daniel Mahoney, who heads the Special Investigations Division, which conducted the administrative investigation, said Wednesday, "Although they’re not allowed to, if Turkington or Zlobinsky ever comes back on the force they [the commission] could pursue charges."

Turkington has not been formally sentenced, but under his plea agreement, he faces three years’ probation and 416 hours of community service. His attorney, Stuart Hanlon, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Prosecutors said Zlobinsky resigned just before entering his plea. He was fined $350 for his misdemeanor conviction.